The Rumble Strips, Welcome to the Walk Alone

Saturday 11 July 2009 19.03 EDT
First published on Saturday 11 July 2009 19.03 EDT

With their jaunty brass-laden tunes, the Rumble Strips have been heralded as a modern-day Dexys Midnight Runners. Who better then for this Devonshire fivesome to team up with for album two but horn-mad Mark Ronson? It may, as the press release states, "sound like nothing else released this year", but it also sounds like a lot else: vocalist Charlie Waller is an admirable belter, evoking the spirit of Andy Williams and the Walker Brothers. There's no arguing with the tight pop tunes, but this lacks the depth and complexity of similar retro-noir throwbacks such as the Last Shadow Puppets.